


The Silence

by bluedemon92



Series: Sugar We're Going Down [8]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Homophobia, Minor Violence, References to Homophobia, reference to myth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:04:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedemon92/pseuds/bluedemon92
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The dying embers of friendship and the beginning of a new start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Silence

"You need braces."  The dentist declared as he looked over the paperwork in front of him.  Loki stared at the dentist in dismay.

"Braces?  Are you sure?"  He asked, imagining all the harassment he would be getting in school.

"It's nothing to fret over.  A couple of years and your smile will be perfect."

Perfect.  Perfect like Baldur and Thor already are.  Perfect like Loki will never be.

* * *

 

 

Loki walked into the lunch room holding onto his lunch bag. He glanced around the crowded room and spotted Tony sitting with a group of Eighth graders. Thor included. Neither look up at Loki and Tony goes on talking. Loki walked by and sat across from Darcy Lewis who is eating the school pizza. She grinned at him.

"That's three days in a row." She mused, chewing on the cheese. Loki shrugged and pulled out his tuna sandwich. Recently he had begun wearing braces. They were only supposed to stay on a year. They cut into Loki's gums and Thor relentlessly teased him about them. Sometimes Loki felt like he was adopted. These were on of those times. Thor and Baldur had nice teeth. Why did Loki have a gap? He ate sullenly and did not meet Darcy's concerned gaze. "I'm sure he'll come around." She says offering him a bite of her pizza. Loki shook his head. "He came to the house yesterday."

"That's good."

"To hang out with Thor."

"Oh." Darcy's face fell. "I'm positive it won't last." She watched as Loki finishes his sandwich. "Better not." He mutters glaring at Tony across the room. They sit together on the bus as usual and Loki asks if Tony is angry with him.

"Why would I be angry at you?"

"We never talk anymore."

"We're talking right now." Loki slumps against his seat and Tony glowers out the window. When the kid sitting across from them makes fun of Loki's braces Tony says nothing in his defense. Loki cries once he is in his room despite Thor's attempts to cheer him up.

The weekend starts and Loki awakens early. Spring is soon arriving. Loki quickly dresses and races down stairs. March 21st. Baldur's 17th birthday. Frigga was already down stairs preparing to make the cake. She beams at Loki.

"Come to help?" She asks as Loki washes his hands. Loki nods. "Baldur wants vanilla?"

"Every year." She confirms pulling eggs from the fridge. They spend the morning giggling and baking the cake, by the end of it both mother and son have cake batter on their face and smeared in their hair. Odin comes into the kitchen and looks them over.

"I do hope you managed to make the cake rather than wear all of it." Loki hands his father a spoon to test it. Odin tries it and nods his head in delight. "Very good. Baldur will love it." Odin's compliments are rare and Loki cherishes it. Thor and Baldur are the next to arrive. Baldur dips his finger in the frosting despite Loki's dismayed wail. Thor hefts Loki up and hold him with one arm as he too dips a free finger in the frosting. Both older Odinsons nod and smile.

Baldur has invited some friends from school and his newest girlfriend over. They eat the cake and inhale the ice cream greedily. Loki is baffled that they are still hungry after all the cake. Some genetic code of teenagers, like eat or be eaten or something. Odin and Frigga buy Baldur a red 2005 Avalanche. Baldur was so excited he looked like he was going to piss himself. It was a good day. Loki was glad to be able to spend it with his family.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Howard's home off from work today. He humors Tony and spends the day watching the old Star Wars movies. They sit on opposite sides of the couch, a large bowl of popcorn between them. They laugh at the same time and even quote scenes from the movie together. It's the best day in a long time.

But of course, Howard's phone rings and it's Obie on the line. Howard leaves Tony and goes off to talk and Tony fails to squash the hurt ache in his chest.

At school he and Loki continue to ignore each other. They no longer sit on the bus together and no longer climb into each others rooms through the window. One day Thor's friend Sif comes to school with her hair cut startlingly short. She is irate. Loki is not at school the entire week, when he comes back his lip is badly bruised. From what Tony heard is that Sif called Loki a faggot and he took scissors to her hair in response. Upon seeing this, Thor punched his brother in the face. Now you see, Loki had gotten braces recently, because of a minor issue with his teeth. When Thor punched Loki, his braces ripped through his lips like a messed up sewing job. He had to be rushed to the hospital and have them removed.

Loki's mouth heals up leaving no mark and the braces are supposed to come off soon after. Sif can grows her hair out once again like it never happened, but that fight left a hostility brewing between Loki and Thor. Just as Loki and Tony grew apart, Thor and Loki too stopped speaking. Howard builds Tony a lab room so he can do experiments without blowing up the kitchen. Tony begins his work on a computer app he names Dummy.

Thor invites Tony and the rest of his friends over to watch movies. It seems Thor no longer cares if Loki was around when his friends were. It did not matter much because Loki did not come out of his room all day or night while they were there. Frigga actually brought some food up to him. Volstagg asks Tony why he and Loki no longer talk and Tony shrugs.

"Not sure." He replies gulping down his soda. The others don't comment. That night when everyone else is asleep Loki sneaks downstairs for a glass of juice. Tony is still awake, drinking milk at the kitchen counter. Loki stills shifting, squinting in the dark.

"Anthony." He greets blandly opening the fridge. Tony nods in response gulping down his milk. Loki pours his juice and drinks it, refusing to look at Tony. They drink silently awkwardly. Tony is the first to break it. "How's it been?" He whispers licking his lips. Loki shrugs setting his glass down. "Good...you."

"Good."

Loki slowly approaches the counter and sits at the stool across from Tony. Tony eyes him warily. "Tony?"

"Huh?"

"Are we not friends anymore?"

"I...I don't know..." Tony replies softly. "Do you even care?" Loki whispers, eyes bright in the darkened kitchen. The responding silence is all the answer he needs an in the silence of a dark kitchen, a friendship has ended.


End file.
